In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine, peach, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as "Big Juan". The present variety was hybridized in 1984 by us in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif., in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). This hybrid seedling resulted from using Red Diamond Nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,165) as the selected seed parent and an unnamed nectarine seedling as the selected pollen parent. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects.
The fruit produced by the present variety is most similar to that of the May Diamond Nectarine (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,454) by being full red in color, by maturing in June, and by being freestone in type, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by producing fruit that is larger in size, that is purely yellow to the stone in flesh color, and that ripens 7 days earlier.
The present variety is similar to its selected seed parent, the Red Diamond (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,165), in fruit appearance by being a full red colored freestone nectarine with excellent firmness, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by producing fruit that ripens 28 days earlier.